Ok, so who out of that group is really your teacher? Is it one particular person, or are you a student of the “teaching staff” of that school?
Who is actually giving you instruction, who has authority to critique and give you corrections, and test and promotions?
There needs to be some level of consistency. If some black belt who you have never trained with before or perhaps never even seen before comes along at one of these events and suddenly starts telling you that you are doing things wrong, do you trust him?
The bit you're quoting was about the annual picnic. Which isn't really a class and is definitely not a test. We have about 30-40 active black belts at our school, so they are usually on the perimeter keeping the kids in line, and we're not doing critiques during this event as the goal is just to have fun together.
Ok, so what is your reasoning for stopping the practice of the one, after you learn the other?
And, what benefit do you see from practicing kata? How is that viewed in your school?
Kata help reinforce the techniques, teach discipline (especially for the kids who want to rush through it), help strengthen our legs and reinforce the stances, and help with memory and neurological pathways (we had a brain cancer survivor who found the forms to really help her get her mind back on track).
My reasoning is as I said above. In middle school, I was practicing my basic arithmetic in the context of algebra, i.e. if I needed to do 4x + 5x = Y, then I'd still need to know 4 + 5 = 9, so 4x + 5x = 9x. If the advanced form includes all concepts covered in previous forms, but expanded on, why do you need to practice the previous form?
Honestly I think that's a bit silly you should always keep practicing the stuff you've learnt or whets the point in learning it
If the concept is learned, and the concept can be practiced with a more advanced pattern, then what is the point of keeping the simpler patterns? The patterns (whether it's a 1-step drill, a combination, or a kata) are tools with which to teach the concepts. If you have a tool that progresses the concept further, why do you need to go back to another tool?
How do you improve upon the white belt kata if you don't continue to practice it? Or are you suggesting that once you pass white belt it's suggesting you already have mastery/an advanced understanding of that kata?
Well, for the most part you do keep katas for a few belts, and you're expected to improve them. However, the kata is not the goal. The kata is a tool with which to teach the concepts. You don't improve on the white belt kata, you improve on katas in general. Both in terms of the skill you use with the kata, and in the ability to learn and memorize more complicated kata.
You could have one person running it, and have, say, 1 assistant overseeing each group of 5-10 students that are testing.
I’ve seen a head person run a test for 50 students. He had senior black belts circulating through the group while he was in front telling the students what to do and circulating himself. During sparring, he climbed on a ladder for a bird’s eye view of the entire floor. If a senior black felt someone wasn’t up to standards and the one running the test didn’t notice, he’d discreetly get the head guy’s attention to take a closer look.
It can definitely work. The person running the test has to be pretty competent though. He/she probably has to be looking for red flags more than anything else IMO.
The master runs the test. Several other black belts help judge (each has a paper for a specific group of students), but the master is in charge. The judges sit at the judges' table and offer critiques during the test, which the testers must fix.
However, the big thing is space. We do not have the space to test 50 people at a time, let alone 80 like we usually have. Even 30 is cramped. So there's no way we're testing 80 people unless we either rent out a venue with enough space, or people sit down until its time to perform the techniques specific to their test.
